Although the course emphasized a few issues that are unique to academia, many of the subjects covered--general management, project planning, time management, and interpersonal principles--are crucial to all professionals, no matter what career they ultimately choose to pursue.

Malik goes to seminars to learn not just what they're doing, but how they're approaching questions. "It's really exciting to see how this person went about developing the story and making these connections . . . It's really useful to see how a scientific mind thinks about a particular problem."